Standing Stones

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Apparently if you stand on top of the Wren's Egg on Midwinter's Day the Sun will set over Big Scaur - Scare on the OS - a large rock in the middle of Luce Bay. On every other day it sets further west. I remain interested whether this alignment is reflected in the two stones I found embedded in the stone dyke E of the site though accept that they are most probably of later date. I would also like to return to double check whether the Wren's Egg erratic is held in place by any visible chocking stones, indicating rolling into its present day position, perhaps in relation to this solar alignment.

Comments (5)

There are huge problems with any astro alignment at the site , probably why Thom could only come up with the Big Scaur suggestion .
One problem is that of using the furthest stone as a back sight , the horizon is the sky with no landscape feature to pinpoint the rising or setting of the sun or moon .That is not the stuff of the more usually accepted astro alignments .
But accepting the unlikely , where do you stand , how close to the stone etc ? This matters as the altitude of the horizon will change dramatically , giving huge potential . Then there is the problem of the foresight it’s relatively close (approx 20m ) for accuracy even if it was slender pole but it’s huge erratic nearly two metres wide. From the backsights this provides a horizon nearly five degrees wide , again, not the stuff astro alignments . Continuing with the unlikely approach means that the orientation over the centre of the erratic is approx 255 degrees as seen from the easternmost stone the horizon is about 4 degrees due to the height of the stone and taking the observing height as approx 1.56 m . this gives a declination of -5.2 degrees a long way off any Thom paradigm events and weeks from the equinox .
As the orientation to Big Scaur is from an erratic to an island ,i.e. two natural features , it’s purely coincidence . As Thom never surveyed it and nobody has ever seen the island from the site the suggestion is an idealised one .The trees get in the way these days but there is also a possibility that the ground just to the west of South Barsalloch Farm would get in the way of the view at any time .
"On every other day it sets further west." Is not quite true in relation to prehistory , the declination from stone rock (big scaur ) is 23. 6 degrees , solstice in 2500 BC was 24 degrees , so there are some days when it would have set further away from west than the rock at that time .
As for the stones in the wall I would need a good grid ref to assess it in relation to the others .
Here's another one .http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3101540

Fair enough. I was unaware that any view to the sea was possible when there. I'm still wondering if the Egg's final resting place is through natural means nat though - if they could erect Drumtroddan's stones they could shift that...certainly a site we do not fully understand, like so very many.

Carol ,sorry if that was a bit wordy , I thought it better to explain rather than just dismiss .

Spencer , Masters excavated some of the area around the erratic .Finds included a post hole from an early info board , a ceramic shirt button considered to be "of a type no earlier than 1880 AD " and seven branch bases (probably Pine ) ,all were within a pit which was believed to be an attempt to topple and bury the erratic .